In the Seat of Power, the Force is Strong

Date: 2009.12.01 | Category: News Chunks, Seasoned Women | Response: 2

Speculations are now over. It’s affirmative: The President is giving up her seat in Malacañang, but only because she will be running for Congress.

President Gloria Macapagal – Arroyo would run as representative of the second congressional district of Pampanga in the May 2010 elections. This was the announcement Malacañang issued Monday, ending the month-long suspense the nation has been subjected to regarding her political plans once her term ends.

While her decision to run for Congress was welcomed by her supporters, critics believe this is Arroyo’s strategy to evade lawsuits awaiting her once she leaves the presidency.

It may be recalled that Mrs. Arroyo and the First Family were linked in the ZTE-NBN controversy, the “Hello Garci” 2004 electoral fraud, the Manila North Rail Project and the extrajudicial killings of militant leaders and journalists.

During the past months, the question of legality for an outgoing president to run for a lower seat was raised by critics and political opponents who have earlier suspected Mrs. Arroyo would run for Congress.

Lawyers, on the other hand, have confirmed the absence of law prohibiting Mrs. Arroyo from running for a seat in the House of Representatives.

Former chair of the Commission on Elections Atty. Christian Monsod said that “Arroyo could run for any position in government except for re-election as President”. Monsod was one of the drafters of the 1987 Constitution.

Lawyer Sixto Brillantes, while he agrees with Monsod’s statement, questioned the president’s decision to run for Congress as he said “It is a move against the norms of morality.”

Her political foes have likewise expressed concern over Arroyo’s bid for a seat in the Lower House as a means for her to push for charter change, shifting our current democratic form of government to parliamentary, which would render the next elected president useless.

In an interview over dzRB, Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes, Jr. said, “We maintain that after nine years in Malacañang, with a rule that has been characterized by shameless corruption and impunity, Arroyo is no longer morally qualified to hold any public office.”

Bayan Muna party list representative Teddy Casiño meanwhile stated that Arroyo should seek “professional help” since she is “drunk with power”.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz also expressed concern over Mrs. Arroyo’s plan to run for Congress after her presidency. He said the drafters of the Constitution may not have thought of imposing a ban on an outgoing president running for a lower post simply because it was “unthinkable”.

“There appears to be no reasonable cause for such a constitutional prohibition as really there is no person in his or her sound mind who will do such a funny and demeaning political circus,” the Archbishop said.

Catarman Bishop Emmanuel Trance also spoke out saying “she would have shown some statesmanship or political delicadeza if she does not run.”

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero likewise said that although it is the president’s right to run for a lower office, “it surely leaves a bad taste in the mouth.”

Escudero further quipped, “What else does she need to prove and accomplish?”

Even the president’s ally, Sen. Edgardo Angara, voiced that there are “many more meaningful ways” that Arroyo could do to serve the people other “than stepping down to a lower position”. “She could go into teaching, philantrophy or charity work”, he added.

Meanwhile, the President, in a replay interview over Radyo ng Bayan, talked about her options after she leaves the presidency.

Arroyo said she plans “to go back to teaching or work for causes near and dear to her like the fight against climate change, improvement of education, and the cause of women,” but for now she said “the best way to continue to champion the things I love is in Congress.”

At past 10 a.m. today, the president arrived at the Commission on Elections office in Pampanga province with her with husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.

Clad in an aquamarine pants and blouse, Arroyo was all smiles when she greeted the Comelec officials.

But of course.

Amidst the criticisms highlighting her lack of delicadeza and moral inadequacy, for someone who has been in power for so long, the “force” is obviously strong.

She wasn’t named the 44th most poweful woman for nothing, after all.

Photo from: uniffors.com